Huddersfield hand Liam Manning dream start with derby win over Bradford

Liam Manning made a winning start as Huddersfield manager with a 1-0 win in the West Yorkshire derby against Bradford despite being reduced to 10 men.

Marcus Harness put the hosts ahead after 23 minutes and they held on after Marcus McGuane was shown a second yellow card just after the hour mark.

Town dominated the first half and will have gone into the break feeling their one-goal lead was actually less than they deserved for their efforts.

Lynden Gooch missed a big early chance, shooting into the side-netting off the rebound from Alfie May’s saved effort.

Bojan Radulovic was then called offside as he raced in behind to convert Harness’ through ball.

Harness made the breakthrough from a quickly-taken throw-in, finishing off the loose ball after a wrong-footed Sam Walker made a superb save from Radulovic’s header.

The game became a bit more cagey after the break until McGuane was dismissed for a second bookable offence in the 62nd minute, giving Bradford hope of a comeback.

The Bantams used that numerical advantage to dominate the closing stages, but were unable to create any clear-cut chances against a resilient Huddersfield defence.